


theres a million, billion, trillion stars

by blessed_image



Series: bury a friend: umbrella academy fics [4]
Category: The Umbrella Academy (TV)
Genre: Agender Number Five | The Boy, Fuck Luther Lives, Gen, Gender-Neutral Pronouns, Kinda, Loss Of Object Permanence, Number Five | The Boy Has Issues, Number Five | The Boy Needs A Hug, Object Permanence, THIS MIGHT BE MORE THAN OP NOW THAT I THINK ABT IT, Trauma, Underage Drinking, and memory BUT i do know some, anyway, but idk everything abt OP since, i studied criminal psych, memory problems, my psych and health qualifications really snapped, old bastard got their memory al fucked up, since child psych was a topic i did
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-14
Updated: 2019-03-14
Packaged: 2019-11-18 03:55:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,060
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18112784
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/blessed_image/pseuds/blessed_image
Summary: Five isn’t really a child, but they definitely have the mentality of one- having lost half their childhood to the apocalypse and all.





	theres a million, billion, trillion stars

**Author's Note:**

> MF object permanence can be lost through extreme trauma so im playing on that

Allison had first noticed it a while ago.

 

Sure, everyone knew Five was dealing with their own problems; just like everybody was- but this wasn’t something anyone else in the Hargreeves’ family dealt with. Originally, she thought they were just forgetful- not realising that the pen, or drink, or whatever was still there when they turned around. They would place something down, or write something just to turn around and completely forget about it. Either that, or they would glare at it and keep it in their line of sight for hours on end. Just staring.

 

It was pretty unnerving if she was completely honest. She wasn’t used to this behaviour, sure- Claire used to do things like this; just forget something existed out of her own space. But she eventually grew out of it, most people do. When Allison researched the symptoms, she came across Object Permanence. Which is the understanding that objects continue to exist even when they cannot be perceived.

 

Usually, this would be something an infant would go through; only having an egotistical mindset, where everything in their line of sight was the only thing that existed. However, seeing such behaviour in anyone over the age of 5 was extremely odd.

 

Five wouldn’t just forget- they would completely lose all recollection of the objects existence. Klaus and Diego had noticed it, too, and presumably Ben and Vanya. Everyone watched as they would scribble some numbers on a scrap piece of paper, only for Luther to say something ridiculous- and for Five to turn and call him an idiot; before walking away from what they were doing. And if you brought it up, they would either look at you like you had just grown an extra head or their eyes would suddenly light up- jumping to a different room in the house.

 

Sure, it may be more than what Allison suspects it is- but it still fit the description. And, to be frank, she isn’t a psychologist.

 

So, here she is now: seated at the end of the table- nervously tapping her index finger against the hardwood. Klaus was sat to her left, Diego to her right as they watch a content Five humming as they stand against the counter; sadly, they’re drinking again- but that’s not what they’re focusing on at the moment. Instead, the trio are waiting for the moment in which they turn around for whatever reason; they’re waiting for the moment it seems like Five has forgotten what it is they were doing- to mention it right then and there.

 

Luck was on their side.

 

Luther strolls into the room, smiling lightly at Allison, who scoffs at him in annoyance. He frowns, before walking up to the cupboard next to Five- towering over the shorter sibling with extraordinary height. He rumages through it, looking, and pulling out a torch for whatever reason. Once closing the door to the cupboard, he stares at Five for a few seconds- who is still humming.

 

“Can you be any louder?” he asks, causing everyone else in the room to stiffen. The space goes completely silent, and Allison is pretty sure everyone can literally hear the moment Five snaps.

 

“Can you be any more of a piece of shit?” they ask, lifting their glass up to their lips and smirking- that small, lopsided one that makes everyone laugh when they see it. Apart from Luther.

 

“You’re giving me a headache.” Luther mutters, starting to walk away towards the door on the other side of the room. Five slams the glass down into the countertop, before turning around so fast that Allison worries they got whiplash.

 

“You sure you got enough braincells in that thick fucking skull of yours to even rub together to generate a headache?” They snarl, eyes darker than usual- but she puts that down to the alcohol more than anything. “Thick as fucking cow shit.”

 

Klaus lets out a small chuckle at the exchange, holding both hands up when Five glares at him instead.

 

“I’m not disagreeing!” he chirps, smiling widely.

 

“Fuck off.” Five deadpans, flipping him off with one hand. They start to walk towards the table the three of them are sat at, staring down at the markings they had previously etched into it just a week before- a confused look painting their features. They always make the same face at them every time they see the markings. Another thing Allison needs to stage an intervention for. But this is her chance.

 

“Hey, Five.” she smiles, eyes creasing in a motherly and welcoming way. They look up at her, completely forgetting the markings they were just tracing with their eyes- instead just looking her dead in the eyes. “You just gonna leave your glass on the side?”

 

They blink at her for a few seconds, the blank look on their face never faltering in any way; before Diego steps into the conversation.

 

“And what do those markings mean?” he asks, eyebrows raised.

 

Five slowly slides their eyes over to focus their vision on their brother, who pulls his lips back into a thin line. He nods to the table, to which Five looks down at; frowning suddenly, finally letting some emotion leak onto their face.

 

“Uh...” they whisper, voice slightly shaky. “...I don’t- I-“

 

Allison notices the small tremor in their hand as they reach a slender finger down to one of the markings- following the rough line. She doesn’t say anything though, just clears her throat.

 

Five doesn’t look up though, probably deciding to just stay looking at the object of their attention.

 

“The glass?” she asks quietly.

 

“The glass?” Five mirrors, voice breaking on the last syllable; to which Klaus himself frowns. “The glass...”

 

She nods, reaching out her own hand to place over theirs- and they finally look up, but only after tensing.

 

“Yes, the glass, Five.” Allison clarifies, reassuring smile never leaving her expression. “What about the glass?” she uses her other hand to point behind them. They look behind them.

 

“Oh.”

 

“Oh?” Klaus asks, humour taking up the majority of his voice- but Diego glowers at him. He clears his throat.

 

“What do you mean ‘oh’, Five?” the other brother asks, carefully.

 

“I didn’t-“ Five darts their tongue out to swipe at their bottom lip. “I didn’t realise it was there. Did I do that?”

 

Allison’s smile fades.

**Author's Note:**

> say it with me gays: stan enby five!
> 
> also rip object permanence is super important


End file.
